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Category Archives: Games
The Ancient Singularity; or, The Precambrian Conspiracy: Part 1
Those who earnestly push conspiracy theories are occasionally both naïve and grandiose. Their claim to extraordinary insight is sometimes at odds with the intellectual talent they display. Without knowing better, one might suspect their pet conspiracy inflates their self-importance to … Continue reading
Posted in Fantasy, Games, Precambrian Conspiracy, Social Media
Tagged Precambrian Conspiracy
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Habitation Generation, for Stories and RPGs
I’m generally not very disciplined in creating living spaces for my characters, so I decided to make a checklist and protocol both to save time and to ensure I don’t miss critical details. The following is an example of a … Continue reading
Posted in Dungeons & Dragons, Fantasy, Games, Writing
Tagged Dungeons & Dragons, Writing
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Low-Resolution Fantasy, a Defense of “Bad” Art
I’ve always felt I missed something important about why my first encounters with Dungeons & Dragons were so powerful to me. When I wrote my essay for Baen early this year, I began to fit some pieces together, but as … Continue reading
Posted in Dungeons & Dragons, Fantasy, Games, Writing
Tagged Dungeons & Dragons, fantasy, Writing
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The Cognitive Science of Religion, Filed Under “Gaming”
http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Cognitive-Science-of-Religion This is a fascinating and important area of inquiry. I used to think that disavowing religion was like denying your blind spot, not because I think that everyone secretly believes in God but rather that if they don’t, they’ll … Continue reading
Posted in Dungeons & Dragons, Evo Psych, Games, Politics, Religion
Tagged literalism, politics, religion
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Player’s Handbook, Gamemaster’s Guide, User’s Manual
This winter quarter I’ll be teaching a class in JavaScript, and while driving around town today I mused about how I might impress my students with the power of open-source libraries. This led me to a train of geeky associations … Continue reading
Posted in Dungeons & Dragons, Games, Writing
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The Half-Baked Guide to Better D&D, Part 4: Strangers Meet in a Foreign Land
Imagination Against Literalism Yesterday, I had a typically good talk with my friend Jonathan Tweet, lead designer of the D&D 3.0 rules and co-designer of 13th Age. He’s trying to get local atheists to form a community based on science … Continue reading
The Half-Baked Guide to Better D&D, Part 3: Mystery & Mastery
Computer games are not roleplaying games. A computer game circumscribes the possible interactions between the players and the environment, including the monsters. As you get better at being a DM, you act less like a computer. As you get better … Continue reading
The Half-Baked Guide to Better D&D, Part 2: Beginner’s Mind
Dirk the Thief has been down on his luck. He’s worried about where his next meal is coming from. He needs a score. At the local inn, a shady guy is recruiting adventurers to plunder the monster-haunted multi-level Labyrinth of … Continue reading
The Half-Baked Guide to Better D&D, Part 1
The title of this series probably needs work, but I did give it more than two-seconds’ thought; I gave it ten-seconds’ thought. All guides to “better D&D” are going to be half-baked, because there are so many variables to consider: … Continue reading
The Craft and Art(?) of Roleplaying Games
Since I wrote my essay for Baen early this year, I’ve continued to navel-gaze about rpgs. I’m far from having exhausted the topic for myself. Here are some of the strongest conclusions about them that I’ve arrived at:
Far Green Country 